Leadership

Feed My Sheep--My First Testimony

by Janice S Ramkissoon 
09/15/14
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Matthew: 28 -- Focus verses: 16-20 (Jesus appears to His disciples)

You can also find this in Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:6-8) and St. John 21:15-19.

When I was about 6 years old I shared with my congregation the following: “Mi put shi bakkle in shi mout an shi drink it!” Translated, “I placed the bottle into her mouth and she drank it.” I was speaking of my cousin Charlene (aka Lisa) Peddie.

Now that doesn’t sound like a testimony to me but that’s what I was asked to do.  And so I called it ‘My First Testimony’.  My then pastor, the late Rev. Dennis Millwood, was able to fill in the gaps because he was the one who saw me feeding my cousin upon a visit to our home the day before. 

During that visit to our home, I remembered him asking me what I was doing and I told him that I was feeding my cousin.  Later in the day before he left our house he asked me how I did it (meaning how did I feed her) and that’s when I responded: “Mi put shi bakkle in shi mouth and shi drink it!”

On the Sunday morning he called me up to the pulpit and told me to tell the congregation what I had told him the previous day.  I repeated the statement and as he patted me on the head he filled in the gap.  I don’t remember what he said but I guess that his part plus mine completed the testimony.

During the time of this recollection there was a period of approximately six months when I found myself thinking about what I said that day and the spiritual lesson(s) behind it. I was led to St. John 21:15-19 where Jesus challenged Peter to not just feed His sheep but also to follow Him.  The message I’d like to relate is based around this Scripture but it is a follow-up from the command given to us in Matthew 28:16-20:

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

In Embracing Forgiveness I wrote the following in line with the above mentioned Bible verses:

"…I now encourage church leaders and their Sunday school and youth department leaders to find ways to engage their congregation in all aspects of worship. We all need to feel part of the service and it helps with outreach. It is easier for young people to invite their friends to church services if they feel included in the worship themselves. Times have changed but this is an age-old problem with a solution for each part of the body. I felt part of my congregation while growing up and I have been to several churches in this country where I have felt part of the whole service. However, I have been to other churches where little is done to engage the entire congregation.

We must find the way that works for our fellowship and use it. What works for another fellowship might not work for yours. Wisdom would suggest that you get to know your congregation to find out what works for your fellowship, rather than to apply a carbon copy of another church. Our sermons and the activities we provide must reflect the culture of the church and its surrounding community."

Excerpt from Embracing Forgiveness  2014 (pages 213-214).

Continues in part 2: Feed My Sheep--Understanding the Message